SonicX Chronicles: The Shadow Saga
by RhiannonWolf
Summary: What happens when Jade meets the mysterious black and red hedgehog with ruby eyes? And what happens when he meets her?
1. Chapter 1

Hi! This is my second story! Tee hee! I hope you enjoy this one! Please Read&Review! Thanks!

By the way, I do not own any of the characters in here, nor the Sonic the Hedgehog series or anything to do with it. All I own is Jade and Tory, but hey that's fine.

Prologue

Oh hello. You must be the readers that Rhia won't stop talking about. It's so nice to finally meet you. My name is Jade Wolf. I am the main character in this story. Well, you probably already guessed that one. Let me tell you a little about me so you won't be too confused later on. As I said, my name is Jade Wolf. I have a strange power that allows me to project memories, (they can be mine or someone else's) so that others may see them. And I also have an animal Familiar named Tory. He's an arrogant little palm-sized turtle with a big attitude that can bite your head off. But deep down he's really quite sweet. He was my first friend anyway. But back to me. I have no idea where I came from, I have no friends besides Tory, I have no family, and no home. But then one day I met Sonic and his friends, who welcomed me with open arms. But that's a story for another time. Now, I must tell you the story of one of my greatest adventures with Sonic. This is the story of how the world came to know _him_.

Shadow the Hedgehog.

So that was the prologue. How was it? Do you like Jade's character? I hope you do, cause she's pretty awesome. And as for Tory. . . if any of you have read my HxH story, and you liked Rhia, then you'll LOVE Tory. Who wouldn't love a smart-aleck turtle who can talk and is the size of a Clementine? Read&Review! Tee hee!


	2. Chapter 2

Hi! Here's the first chapter! I really hope you like it! Read&Review, 'kay?

I own nothing but Jade and Tory. *sighs sadly*

By the way, I am not copying anyone's idea for this story. If it sounds similar to another one, then it is a complete accident. I give the authors my sincerest apologies for it, but I would never plagerize anyone's idea. I guess all that can be said is that great minds think alike.

Chapter 1: Kidnapped?

JADE'S P.O.V

"Jade, we should go back soon. It's getting dark out."

"What, are you scared of the dark Tory?"

Tory growled softly. "No!"

"Then why do you want to go home so quickly?" I asked, admiring the city lights.

"Ella made her famous apple pie okay?" he cried out from my shoulder. "And she said she'd save me a piece, but Cream and Cheese might get there first!"

"Oh Tory, you know Cream and Cheese would never do that."

"I needed a good excuse for us to go home." He pouted.

I rolled my eyes and went back to thinking. So much had happened over the past week, I just couldn't believe it! A place called Angel Island had suddenly dropped out of the sky, and was currently floating in Station Square Bay. Apparently it was actually a part of Sonic's home planet! On the island was the Master Emerald, which had the power to control all the other Chaos Emeralds. Then there was Tikal, the mysterious Echidna Princess from the past, who begged us to stop Chaos. Chaos was this giant sea monster looking thing that got bigger every time it swallowed a Chaos Emerald! When Chaos had all of the Emeralds, it changed into its final form, Pure Chaos. Pure Chaos attacked Station Square, and drained the Emeralds of their power! Then our friendship gave the Emeralds their power back! Even Dr. Eggman helped! With the power of the Emeralds restored, Sonic was able to transform into Super Sonic, and saved the day. But Chaos wasn't dead, and just as we were about to get ready, Tikal informed us that Chaos was good now, because all of his anger was gone. So Tikal and Chaos were able to return to where ever they came from, and Station Square was returned to peace. Well, not quite. Pure Chaos had done some serious damage, and so since I was staying with Chris, I had to move. But it was only until Chris's house was fixed up.

And now I was here, walking with Tory on my shoulder, admiring the city at night. I had never felt so accepted before. This was like home to me, which was something I had been deprived of.

"Well, since you've returned to Dream World and have stopped talking to me, I think I'll go to sleep." Tory said, climbing into my shirt pocket.

I didn't answer him. I was too busy thinking about. . . other things. Like my past, of which I knew nothing about. All I knew was my name, my age, my powers, and Tory. Nothing else.

Suddenly, I heard an alarm go off somewhere. I stopped walking. Just as I was about to turn around, something rammed into me with the force of a speeding car. I was thrown onto the pavement. "Ow. . . Watch where you're going!" I yelled at the culprit.

"Stay out of my way." Came a deep voice that made me roll over from my position on the ground. "And it won't happen again."

I turned my head in time to see a fleeing figure, about three feet tall. It looked like a hedgehog! But the only hedgehog I knew was Sonic! And even if he did run me over, (which he probably would just to see my reaction) he wouldn't say something like that!

"Jade!" Tory cried from my pocket. "What was that? Are you alright?"

I stood up slowly and dusted off my pants. "I'm fine. But as to what or _who_ that was, I'm at a loss."

"Now we really should go home!" Tory cried. "Come on, it's dangerous out here!"

"Oh, when you're right, you're right." I mumbled. I started walking to our current home, where Chris was at the time.

LATER. . .

I burst through the front door, much to the surprise of those inside.

"Oh! Jade you're home!" Cream cried, latching onto me.

"Chao chao!" Cheese cheered, flying in happy circles around my head.

"Good to see you too." I said, gently prying Cream from my waist.

"Is that you Jade?" came Chris's voice from down the hall. He came around the corner and smiled at me, his navy blue eyes sparkling. "Where did you go this time?"

I smiled back. "Oh just around the block. It's really pretty around here at night."

"Yeah, except for lunatics who have the speed of racecars!" Tory interjected loudly. Chris gave me a questioning look.

"It's nothing Chris. We were just knocked over by some rude person on the sidewalk, that's all."

"Are you okay?" he asked, concern in his voice.

I nodded. "Nothing broken, nothing bleeding."

"What about me?" Tory asked as I walked to the kitchen.

"Tory shut up."

"WAHHH!"

"Hello Ella." I said as I entered the kitchen.

She turned and saw me. "Oh hello dear! How are you?"

"I'm f-"

"STARVING!" Tory interrupted from my pocket. "Oh Ella, Jade won't feed me! She's trying to kill me! Please save me with the apple pie you baked so conveniently earlier today! I beg of you!"

I found it had not to laugh at the turtle's antics. I took him out and set him on the counter.

"Oh you poor thing!" Ella cried. Tory turned to look at me and gave me a raspberry. While he did that, Ella winked, letting me know she was playing along. This made it even harder to giggle. She came over and placed a plate of apple pie, just Tory's size, on the table in front of him.

His eyes got to be the size of Whoppers, and he started drooling.

"Tory, behave yourself." I said as he buried his head in the gooey filling. He mumbled something that wasn't audible.

I sighed. "Great. Now I have to give you a bath later."

He pulled his head out from the pie and swallowed. "It's worth it." Then he dove back in.

I rolled my eyes. "Ella, please watch him."

"Of course sweetie, you don't have to worry about a thing." Ella said with a smile.

As I went back into the main room, I was met with a commotion.

"Was that Sonic?" Chris cried.

"It can't be! Sonic would never take anything that didn't belong to him!" Cream cried.

"What happened?" I asked. Chris turned to me.

"Someone stole a Chaos Emerald from the Museum near here and the police are blaming Sonic!"

"What?" I cried out angrily. "No way!"

"Yeah right." Chuck scoffed. "That was Sonic on those tapes."

"It can't be!" Chris and I yelled at the same time.

"He was framed!" Ella and Mr. Tanaka yelled.

"That's right!" Cream cried.

"Chao! Chao chao!" Cheese added.

Chuck got nervous. "Uh, maybe it wasn't him. You can't believe everything you hear, right?"

I heard the T.V talking, but didn't pay any attention to it. I was going into shock. An angry kind of shock.

"There-there must be some mistake." Chris said in desperation. "Sonic wouldn't…" he couldn't finish the sentence.

"Don't worry Mister Chris." Ella said. "I'm sure there is an explanation."

Mr. Tanaka nodded in agreement.

We sat for a few minutes, talking about what could have happened and who could have done this. I kept looking at the T.V for more pictures, but there weren't any. I went back into the kitchen to check on Tory, who had fallen asleep in his pie.

"Okay you." I said, picking him up gently. "Time for a bath."

Tory was out like a light, so I gave him a quick scrub and finished. When I went back into the main room, Chuck was on the phone.

"Hw. Yes, well let us know if anything else happens." He turned to Chris. "That was your father. Apparently Sonic was spotted battling a robot on Downhill Street."

Chris and I were out the door like a shot.

DOWNHILL STREET

We were all in the car, speeding for the street. Tory was awake by now, but he could tell from my face that I wasn't in a good mood, so he didn't say anything.

When we reached Downhill Street, we saw Sonic standing near the remains of a smoking robot.

"Sonic!" Chris cried.

Then someone just appeared out of nowhere and knocked him flat on his back. I winced. It looked like it hurt.

Sonic and this other figure fought, and I realized that it was another hedgehog.

Then I realized who it was, and I got kind of mad.

Tory was trembling in my shirt pocket. He could tell I was mad. "Jade, what are you doing?" he asked.

I didn't answer. Instead I jumped out of the car.

"Jade? What are you doing?" Chris cried.

I ignored him too. I was glaring at the other hedgehog. "YOU!" I screamed. "You're the one who ran me over!"

The other hedgehog turned around, and I froze in my tracks. He was as black as sin itself, with red stripes that were on his quills, arms and legs. His quills were bent upwards in the back, and looked sharp. He had a tan muzzle, and a tuft of white hair on his chest. He wore white gloves and gold rings on his wrists and ankles. His shoes were large and made of metal. But most of all were his eyes.

Deep ruby red.

I was in a trance. I felt like I couldn't move, for this hedgehog was in my line of sight. He…intrigued me. I wanted to know him now, forgetting that he had just beat Sonic to a pulp.

Then some sirens were heard, and he turned away from me. I blinked in surprise. Who was this guy?

Then he spoke in a deep velvety voice. "I have a feeling I should make myself scarce. Goodbye Sonic, it really was a pleasure meeting you." he held up a green Chaos Emerald.

I growled. _'He's the thief!' _

"Chaos Control!" he cried, disappearing from sight.

"Where'd he go?" Tory asked quietly.

The black hedgehog then suddenly reappeared right next to me. I yelped in shock and he grabbed my wrist.

"Chaos Control!"

"Sonic!" I yelled before I disappeared in a flash of green light.

Great! Now I was getting kidnapped by a black hedgehog with soul-sucking red eyes! And Tory was with me too! I'd never hear the end of this one.

Tee hee! How was that? This is my first Sonic fic, so I hope you readers liked it! Please review and let me know if there need to be any changes. And please comment on Jade's character. I'm used to using character with terrible tempers, and Jade doesn't lose hers quickly. And again, if there is someone else with this idea, I'm so sorry. I'm not using your idea, I actually wrote this four years ago, it was my first experience with writing fanfiction. So please let me know! Till next time! Tee hee!


	3. Chapter 3

Hi! Thanks to everyone who reviewed my story, it made me so happy! Well, here's the second chapter, I hope you like it!

Yeah, I don't own anything except for Jade and Tory. *sighs* Oh well.

Chapter 2: Prison Island

JADE'S P.O.V

I hit the ground with a thud. _'Ow…' _I thought.

"Yipee!"

I groaned. _'Oh no. Please NOT him.' _I looked up.

"We did it! We did it!"

I sweat-dropped. _'It's him.'_

"That hedgehog's in the hooskow thanks to you Shadow!" Eggman cried, shaking the black hedgehog's hand vigorously. There was confetti falling from the ceiling. I slapped my forehead.

"So embarrassing…" I mumbled.

"And my dear jade, how are you doing this fine evening?" Eggman asked in a falsely sweet voice. I rolled my eyes.

"Shut up and wipe that stupid smirk off your face." Tory growled from my pocket. "You look like an idiot-oh, too late. You already do!"

I groaned. He was going to get me in trouble pretty soon.

"You may want to wash that turtle's mouth with soap." Eggman said. "Before he says something he'll regret."

"He's already done that plenty of times." I said.

Eggman growled. I loved to annoy him, it was SO easy!

"I take it you've met Shadow?" he guestured to the hedgehog.

My eyes narrowed. "Yeah, we've met."

Then, Bokkun came flying in, carrying a little T.V.

"Doctor I have a message for you this time!" he laughed, throwing the T.V at Eggman.

When he caught it, it turned on, and Rouge appeared on the screen. I sweat-dropped. _'What the-ROUGE!' _I thought in annoyance. _'I swear, she can't decide which side she's on.' _

"Hiya Doc, long time no see. I was wondering if we could get together to discuss a little buisness transaction."

"A buisness transaction?" Decoe repeated.

"I would not trust her doctor!" Bocoe declared.

"Who asked ya' bolt brain, fetch her right away!" Eggman barked.

Then the T.V started beeping. "Aw crap…" I said, trailing off.

"Uh-oh." Bocoe said in worry. "Here we go!"

Then the little message T.V blew up with surprising force.

I dodged a piece of ceiling that fell towards me, and accidentally fell into Shadow, knocking both of us down. I jumped away, my cheeks almost as red as his eyes.

"S-sorry." I stammered.

He didn't really seem to acknowledge me however, all he gave me was a curt nod, his expression as hard as stone.

'_Does he even know how to smile?' _I wondered.

"What was that?" Tory cried.

"The ceiling fell in." I answered. "You know Egghead, you should really fix that."

"Shut up Jade!" he called from the other side of the room.

I looked to my right when I heard the sound of something light hitting the floor. I saw Rouge drop through the hole, and land on her heels, which was what had made the noise. She was carrying a big bouquet of red roses. I raised an eyebrow.

'_This is beyond weird…' _

Bokkun was laughing his head off.

"That's not funny!" Eggman yelled. I could just imagine him pulling at his mustache in irriation.

"Don't blame me, lots of stuff on television bombs! HAHAHAHAHA!"

"That was a terrible joke." Tory said.

I returned my attention back to Rouge, who was looking around through the dust.

Eggman almost ran her over. "Ah! Rouge, I didn't expect you here so soon!"

"Good evening Doctor." Rouge said with a smile. "I have a little something I'd like to show you." And out of the bouquet she pulled…

"A Chaos Emerald." Eggman breathed.

"It's all yours Eggy, if you agree to my conditions. All you have to do is be a good boy and play nice, and I'll show you where the others are. What do you say Doc, do we have a deal?" she glanced over at Shadow, who just turned his head away.

"TRAITOR!" Tory yelled, his black eyes blazing. "Rouge you traitor! Just you wait till I get my hands-er…paws on you!"

I rolled my eyes. "It really lost effect when you messed up." I sighed.

Then, I suddenly got an image. The world around me disappeared and I saw the pale face of a young girl with blonde hair and blue eyes. But then it was gone as quickly as it had come. I shook my head when the world returned to normal. _'What was that? A memory? Whose was it? That was strong.'_

"Now, what are your terms?" Eggman asked.

"Pleasure before buisness. Who's this charming young friend of yours? I'm Rouge the Bat. What's your name?" she asked in a rather seductive voice that made me slap my forehead again.

'_She tries WAY too hard.'_

"It's Shadow." He turned and glared at her. "Shadow the Hedgehog."

Rouge seemed to go into the same trance I had been in when my eyes connected with his earlier. Her eyes widened and at his and she seemed frozen.

"TRAITOR!" Tory yelled again. I put my hand over his mouth as he started letting loose a stream of-not-so-nice words.

This was going to be interesting.

LATER…

Tory and I had been stuck at Eggman's base for God only knows how long. But what I did know was that Eggman had taken Shadow and Rouge somewhere to do something 'important'. It annoyed me to no end that I didn't know what that twisted mind of his was plotting.

I was sitting on the floor with Tory on my shoulder. We were watching Decoe, Bocoe and Bokkun play cards.

So far, Bokkun was winning.

I growled suddenly and stood up quickly, nearly losing Tory.

"Jade?" Decoe asked.

"I can't take this anymore!" I declared. "I'm going after them."

"No you can't! It's too dangerous!" Decoe cried.

"We won't let you!" Bocoe added with his robotic arms crossed.

I stopped in my tracks. "What do you mean it's too dangerous?" I asked in suspicion. Bocoe and Decoe looked at each other.

"You big pile of scrap metal!" Bocoe yelled, hitting Decoe on the head. "You said too much!"

"Who are you calling a pile of scrap metal, you pathetic excuse for a robot?" Decoe countered.

I sighed.

"Wow they're annoying." Tory said.

"Tell me what they're doing now!" I demanded. "Or so help me, I'll rewire your hard drives!"

They looked at each other nervously.

"Jade, we can't tell you!" Bocoe cried.

I growled. I wasn't getting anywhere with thses guys. But there was another way…

I spun around to Bokkun, and batted my eyelashes. "Bokkun? You'd tell me, wouldn't you?" I asked in a cute voice.

He started shaking and then blurted out, "Dr. Eggman took Shadow and Rouge to blow up Prison Island!" then he slapped a hand over his mouth, in horror of what he'd said.

My eyes widened in shock. "He did WHAT?"

"Jade, you can't!" Decoe cried as I walked away at a very fast pace.

"Stop this instant!" Bocoe commanded.

"Try me!" I returned without stopping. I had to stop them from blowing up the island! I had to! There were innocent people on that island, who didn't deserve to die!

I walked into a hanger and found a small ship.

"Perfect!" I cried, climbing into it.

"Jade, do you even know how to fly this thing?" Tory asked in worry as the windshield closed, selaing us in. I strapped my seatbelt on.

"It can't be much harder than the Tornado X can it?" I said. "Don't worry. Tails gave me flying lessons a while ago."

"But this is a completely different ship!" Tory protested as the engine roared to life. I felt a rush of adrenaline go through my system and I shoved the joint-stick forward, propelling us into the air.

"YEEHAW!" I cried.

"WAAAAHHHH!" Tory screamed.

"Calm down Tory!" I said, trying to figure out which way to go.

"JADE YOU IDIOT!" he shouted. "I HATE FLYING!"

"Well tough luck buddy." I replied, playing with navigation controls. "Since you're my Familiar, you can never go anywhere without me, and I you." I looked down. "Oh hey, look. We're in Egpyt." I said, noting that Eggman's base looked like a giant pyramid.

"But Jade-"

"No 'buts' Tory. Now let me concentrate and find our way."

"Jade, did you ever stop to think that there could be a TIME LIMIT?"

I stopped. Of course… Well, they _were _going to blow up and island.

"Aw dang!" I yelled, hitting the controls. They sparked.

"Uh-oh." I said quietly.

"Look what you did now!" Tory cried. "WE'RE DOOMED!"

"Shut up already!" I yelled back. I grabbed th ejoint-stick and pulled back as hard as I could. We were currently heading downward, and well, needless to say I didn't want to die.

Then, as if by a miracle, the ship slowly changed direction and headed back up, now in a straight line.

I smirked. "You may thank me later for saving us from our immenent deaths." I said haughtily.

Tory glared at me. "Go gloat somewhere else."

I looked ahead. "Wow. I'm going to take a wild guess and say that we found it."

There below us was an island with one giant building in the center. It looked like a Prison alright.

"How did we get here that fast?" I asked aloud.

"Jade, do you know how to land?" Tory asked.

"Seriously, I thought we were in Africa." I continued, not hearing Tory. "How did we end up here so quickly?"

"Jade, we have to land."

"There's something fishy going on here."

"WOULD YOU LAND THE FREAKIN' SHIP?" Tory shouted, gaining my attention.

"What?" I returned. "But I don't know how!"

"Next time Tails offers you flying lessons, DECLINE!" Tory yelled. "Then you wouldn't think you could do this, therefore not endangering our lives-AGAIN."

I frowned. "Calm down, ye of little faith."

"If you land the ship without killing us, I will never doubt you again!" Tory cried.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes you will."

"Yeah, I know, but I don't want to die!"

"The more you yell at me, the more nervous I become!" I said. I tried to figure out which one was the landing gear. I saw a lever.

"Ah. Maybe this one." I said, pulling it.

The ship completely stopped and started falling.

"Correction!" Tory yelled as I pulled another lever, this one starting it up again. "Next time Tails offers you lessons on how to land, TAKE THEM!"

"I'm not doing that bad!" I defended. We were getting closer now.

"Jade, you're running out of time." Tory said.

"I know that!" I cried. I saw a lever that was labeled in big red letters, _"Landing Gear" _

I frowned and stared straight ahead as I pulled it, making the wheels come out.

"Steady, steady." Tory coached. "Now turn left."

"Hey! No back seat driving!"

"I'm not in the back seat!" Tory argued. He looked behind him. "Jade, there isn't even a back seat!"

I groaned.

The ship was getting closer now. "Here we go…"

"Jade, you're not on the landing lane!" Tory cried.

I realized he was right, since there were trees about twenty feet in front of me. I jerked the joint-stick to the side, hard, in an attempt to save the ship from the trees. Thankfully it worked, and the landing lane was right next to us.

"Yay!" Tory cried. "We're still alive!"

As luck would have it, I STILL crashed the ship. It bounced and skidded across the pavement, finally coming to a halt.

"Let me rephrase that. We're almost alive." Tory remarked, shaking his head.

"What a landing!" I cried, opening the cockpit and jumping out. I stumbled a bit though, as my legs were getting used to gravity again.

"Come on Jade!" Tory cried, leaping onto my shoulder. "Now all we need to do is find the others!"

"I know." I said, running towards the building.

The interior was creepy. There was not a soul or robot in sight.

"They must have evacuated the place." Tory observed. "I hope we still have enough time."

"Don't be such a pessimest." I growled. I walked through the hallways, trying to find someone.

Preferably Rouge. She was, after all, my best friend. Besides Tory.

I was getting really nervous. "Tory, get in my pocket." I said, holding it open.

You didn't have to tell him twice. He was in my pocket quick as a flash, even zipping it from the inside. (A/N: It's a special pocket that Jade designed herself by the way. It has like, kind of a mesh covering so Tory can breathe and see, and has a zipper on the top so he won't fall out. Just to let you guys know.)

As I searched the empty walkways, I heard a familiar voice.

"I can feel those Chaos Emeralds here. All I have to do is crack the code and help myself."

I looked around the corner and saw Rouge standing in front of a large metal door, fiddling with a key pad.

"This'll be a sinch." She mused, her pointed little fingers gliding over the keys. Then, the doors opened.

"Rouge!" I cried.

She spun around with a look of surprise. "Jade? What are you doing here-_how _did you get here?"

"She flew." Tory answered. "Trust me, don't fly with her if you have the choice."

"Hey I wasn't that bad."

"You almost hit a tree!"

"Shut up!"

"Jade you flew here?" Rouge said in a disapproving voice.

"Who are you my mother?" I asked, walking to her.

Rouge was about to say something when we heard some footsteps around the corner.

"Quick, get in!" Rouge whispered urgently, gesturing for us to get in the vault.

I ran in and Rouge followed me. It turned out to be a robot. It had big gus that were aimed at us.

"WAAAHHH!" Tory screamed.

"Jade, get down!" Rouge yelled, jumping at it. She performed her spinning jump kick, and blew it up. Unfortunately, the blast caused the doors to close.

"Jade!" Rouge cried, flying back into the room as the doors closed. Now the three of us were trapped in here.

I coughed a bit from the smoke. "Rouge, we're trapped!"

She ran to the door and put her hand on it. She growled. "Great. What do I do now?"

"Jade!" Tory suddenly cried, forgetting that Rouge was in the room. "Look! Emeralds!"

Rouge's ears instantly went our way when Tory said 'emeralds'.

There in the corner of the room was a glass case with two emeralds in it, one purple and the other sea green.

"Hello gorgeous!" she cried as she flew over.

"Rouge, we don't have time for this." I said, trying to peel her attention away from the gems. "We have to find a way out."

"Jadie have you ever seen anything that sparkled so much?" she asked, as if in a trance.

I growled. "Don't call me Jadie!"

"Jade, we're going to die!" Tory reminded me.

"Thanks for that." I said dryly. I went over to Rouge and shook her shoulders.

"You idiot! Come back to Earth!"

She frowned at me. "Jade, take your hands off me."

"Yes you're back!" I cried. "Rouge, we're going to die if we can't find a way out."

She glanced at the shining jewels again.

"Rouge," Tory said. "if you don't help us get out, then not only will you die, but you'll loose _two _Chaos Emeralds. Not one, but _two_. How terrible would that be?"

Rouge was already at the door, trying to kick her way out. I glanced down at smiled at Tory.

"You may thank me later for saving us from our immenent deaths." Tory mimicked.

"Oh you have your moments." I said.

"Jade, we have a slight problem." Rouge said from across the room.

There wasn't a dent on the door. Not even a scratch!

"How is that possible?" I cried, running over. I put my hands on the metal. There weren't any depressions, not even the slightest.

"Is this it?" Tory asked seriously.

We all looked at each other. Maybe it was.

"No!" Rouge cried. "I won't loose those Emeralds!"

Tory and I sweat-dropped. _'So much for saving the day…'_

"I have an idea!" Rouge suddenly announced, bringing a walkie-talkie from who knows where.

"Why didn't you do that sooner?" Tory yelled.

Rouge ignored him however, and pressed a button.

"Shadow? Come in! Shadow!"

'_Shadow…' _My mind lingered on his name for a moment, although I didn't know why.

"_What is it?" _came his voice from the other end. He sounded like he was fighting.

I felt as though a huge weight had just been lifted from my heart at the sound of his voice. Now I felt like there was a tiny ray of hope shining through the darkness of doubt surrounding us. I shook my head. _'What is with me lately?' _

"I've got a little problem." Rouge admitted. "I'm stuck in a vault with the Chaos Emeralds and I'm locked in. There's no way out."

"Oh thanks for mentioning me." I said in sarcasm.

Rouge rolled her eyes. "Yeah, and Jade somehow showed up."

"_The girl with the big mouthed turtle?" _

"That's her." Rouge said.

"_What is she doing here?"_ Shadow cried.

"How should I know?" Rouge asked. "She just showed up! I'm not her babysitter Shadow!"

"_I never said you were!" _he retorted. It didn't take much to tick him off.

"Back to the problem at hand please!" I cried.

"That's right." Rouge said. "Shadow-"

"_I can't talk! I have to go now!"_

"You mean, you won't help me?" Rouge cried out. I wasn't really that surprised.

"_Not right at this second, no!" _

"But you can't leave me! After all, I've got the Emeralds." Rouge said with a wink.

"Rouge, he can't see you winking." I said with a sweat-drop.

"_I'm busy right now!" _Shadow yelled from his end. Then he switched off, and I felt the giant weight return to my heart.

"What do we do now?" Rouge wondered aloud.

For once, Tory was silent. And so was I. There was nothing we could do.

So we sat there and tried to think of s solution. But nothing came.

As we sat there, I was picking up some faint signal. Someone was having a very string memory. But who was it?

Then Rouge's walkie-talkie beeped.

"_Rouge, this is Shadow. Come in." _

"I'm here!" Rouge cried in joy.

"_Have you still got the Chaos Emeralds?" _

"Of course I still have them!"

"_I'll be right there to pick them up." _Then he hung up again.

"Uh! He's coming for the Chaos Emeralds, but what about me?"

"Ahem!" Tory coughed.

"And you two. But technically you shouldn't even be here!" Rouge reprimanded.

"Oh don't start." I moaned. "I get enough of that from Sonic."

Then suddenly, Shadow appeared in the middle of the room, along with Chris!

"Chris!" I cried, running over. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." He answered. I looked over at Shadow and saw that he had swiped the Emeralds from Rouge.

"Oh-what the-!" Rouge cried.

Shadow held up the gem "Let's go!"

"Hey hold it Shadow!" Rouge said, pointing to Chris and I. "You're not going to leave thsese kids behind!"

"Rouge, I'm fifteen." I said quietly. "I'm not a kid."

"It doesn't concern me what happens to that boy." Shadow said quietly.

I growled. And this was the guy who had given a light feeling to my heart earlier? Unbelieveable!

"Hold on!" Chris pleaded. "My friend got arrested cause of you! He's still here! We have to save him please!"

Shadow seemed completely unfazed by Chris's pleas.

"Please will you help me? I have to rescue Sonic somehow! He would rescue you if it were the other way around!" Chris cried.

"Sonic was arrested?" Tory cried.

Then I was hit with a memory. The same girl with blonde hair and blue eyes appeared before me. This time she spoke.

"_Please Shadow?"_

The memory faded then, but I was still in shock. _'It…was Shadow's memory? The girl…Shadow knew her? Who is she? How does she know Shadow?' _

I saw Shadow looking directly at me, causing my face to burn up.

"Chaos Control!" he yelled. Suddenly a bright light appeared, engulfing everyone in the room in its powerful glow. I felt the strange sensstion that I was moving, but staying in one place. Even though I couldn't feel myself physically moving, my mind told me I was. And very fast.

This must have been the power of Chaos Control.

Tee hee! Long chappter I know, but hopefully it will meet the expectations of you wonderful readers, who have been waiting so patiently! Love you guys! Please review and let me know what you think of this chapter! How was Jade? Does Tory complain too much? Was Shadow in character? Let me know! Tee hee! Till next time!


	4. Chapter 4

Hi! Here's the next chapter! Tee hee! Sorry about the wait, my life is CRAZY!

Thanks to **ObsidianPhantom **for sending those nice reviews! They brought tears of joy to my eyes! *fakes crying* Okay no, not really, I mean, I was still at school when I read the reviews, and who wants to cry at school? God, I'd NEVER hear the end of it!

Back to the story!

*sigh* Must I always do this? …I guess so. I own nothing but Jade and Tory. Wish I owned more…GAH! I'M POOR! Again, no not really. Tee hee!

Chapter 3: Tainted Memories

"What do you mean we're going into space?" I cried.

Shadow, Rouge, Chris, Tory and I had all arrived safely back at Eggman's base.

"That's exactly what I mean!" Eggman said, slamming his fist on the arm of his swivel chair. "You've asked the same thing over ten times now! Why don't you get it?"

I shrugged. "Oh I got it the first time you said it. I just wanted to see your reaction."

Eggman growled. "Go and strap yourself in the ship."

"Can I drive?"

"NO!" Tory and Eggman yelled.

I glanced down at the turtle, who was still in my pocket. "Grr…you take all the fun out of life."

"Big whoop." Tory said in sarcasm. "But I don't want to die!"

"Tory shut up."

"You brought this upon yourself."

"I said 'shut up.'"

"Jade, Tory can you please stop?" Chris asked politely.

"I will if she will." Tory retorted.

I rolled my eyes. "Sure Chris, we'll stop."

So Tory and I walked into the ship, and sat down in a seat all the way in the back. What was Eggman planning? Why was he taking us to space? Was something up there? Aside from the planets and…stuff. I just sat there and started to dream, falling asleep as the others boarded.

_Darkness._

_Everywhere, all around me._

_All I could see._

_Darkness. _

_I felt as if I was floating, and then suddenly I wasn't. I could see a long hallway in front of me. There were torches burning on the walls, providing little light. The flames danced eerily, casting strange shadows on the walls, which were made of cold, hard stone. I noticed that I was walking, my feet moving on their own, or as if they were being controlled by something. _

'_Well,' I reminded myself. 'This is a dream. Of course it'll be strange.'_

_I began to feel drawn to the end of the hallway, like there was a strange beckoning from somewhere deep within the shadowy path. My curiosity now aroused, I began to walk faster, changing from a steady walk to something like a trot. There was something there. I could feel it. That was when I heard the voice. _

_It was soft at first, just barely a whisper. But I could make out one thing. _

_My name. _

"_Jade." It called. "Jade come to me. Come closer…"_

_I tried to ask 'Who are you?' but nothing came from my mouth. I couldn't speak at all. So I had no choice but to go forward, towards the voice. _

_It sounded…almost familiar in a way. But how could that be? _

_My heart was quickening in pace as I drew nearer to the end of the hallway. _

_Then I saw the figure of a tall, slim woman dressed in pure white with a gold band around her head, and a large, dark wooden cross around her neck. She had long blonde hair that reached her thigh, and a small braid that was on the side of her head. She had deep blue eyes, like the sea. She opened her mouth to say something…_

When I woke up.

I sat up, breathing heavily. I saw that I was still in the space ship, but I was alone.

Except for Tory who was snoring like a chainsaw in my pocket.

'_What was that?' _I thought, putting a hand on my forehead. _'The Lady…I've seen her before. But where? How did she know my name?'_ I started to stand up when Tory woke up.

He yawned. "Jade…you awake now?"

"Yeah, you sleep well?" I asked, making my way over to the doorway.

"Yup. How 'bout you?"

I hesitated for a second. _'Should I tell him…?' _"Oh I slept fine."

Tory sighed. "Sure. By the way, you're a horrible liar."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Jade, whenever you lie, you can't look at me. And I know you were having a strange dream."

I put my hands on my hips. "Oh yeah? And since when did you become the psychic?"

"You were talking in your sleep."

I sweat-dropped. "Damn…"

"Lady in White…" Tory said, trailing off. He had a strange look in his eyes.

"Tory?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Huh?"

"You were staring off into space again." I said, narrowing my eyes. "What aren't you telling me?"

"Nothing Jade, don't worry. Don't you think we should find the others?"

I sighed. "Oh I guess you're right."

I continued to walk down the ramp and out of the ship. What I saw just awed me.

A huge space station. It was like nothing I'd ever seen before. The ceiling was so high I could hardly tell where it ended. The walls around me were all shiny. And yet it felt…deserted. It _was _deserted. Where did everyone go?

Tory and I were completely alone. I suddenly grinned.

Tory swallowed hard. "Uh-oh…Jade, I don't like that look."

"Tory, let's go exploring." I said, walking out of the hanger.

"Jade, but we don't know anything about this place!"

"That's the whole point." I said, glancing at the hallways and large metal doors. I suddenly got an uneasy feeling and shivered.

"Jade?" Tory asked. "What's wrong?"

"It's so…quiet." I said. "It's silence. A dead silence. The same kind you hear…" I couldn't bring myself to say it.

Tory sighed. "Jade. We're in outer space. This isn't a graveyard!"

I squeaked slightly when he said 'graveyard'. I was terrified of graveyards, or any other place that had to do with death. Why, you ask?

What kinds of thoughts and memories do you think are left at the place where a person took their last breath?

Terrified, that's what. The memories left in graveyards are depressing and sorrowful. Thoughts of regret, and misery of those who weren't ready to go.

The memories of a lost loved one, or the one kid who committed suicide because of a rumor that was found out to be a lie, making it seem like they died for nothing.

Someone who wished they would have said 'I love you' before it was over, and didn't.

And places where people were killed were the scariest.

Like when a criminal was executed, how the memories of cursing and condemning were left behind. Sad thoughts of remorse, from someone who was sorry, and leaving behind a family, or a loved one.

And the thoughts of paralyzing fear, of someone who was really innocent, or who was too young to die.

This was one of the reasons why I had chosen to distance myself from other people. They may have been smiling, but I didn't trust easily. Every time I thought of this, I was reminded of lyrics to a song by John Denver: _"Oh that grease paint smile can hide your soul!"_

People may be smiling on the outside, but you never know what they're thinking.

"Jade, let's keep going." Tory said.

But I didn't answer. It was happening again. I was hearing voices. All whispering. Just whispers.

I was no expert, but I knew from what I was hearing that there were souls here, and they were restless.

What had happened here?

"Jade." Tory said again. "Jade come on!"

"Something happened here." I said.

"What?" he asked.

But I didn't say another thing. I started walking again, but much faster this time. Pretty soon I was running at top speed. I wanted to get out of that hallway as fast my feet could carry me.

I came upon a room, where it looked as if the little keypad had been blown up. My curiosity was aroused immediately, and I cautiously stepped in.

"Jade…" Tory said quietly. "You shouldn't be doing this. We could get in trouble, or worse!"

"Hush Tory." I returned. I was getting an ominous feeling about this room, but I couldn't bring myself to walk out.

"Jade, this is a bad room!" Tory warned. "Come on! If you get hit with something, you'll black out!"

"Tory, shush!" I said with a finger to my lips. "I have enough energy to stand a blast so don't worry."

"But the memories-"

"Of the dead are the most powerful." I finished. "I'm the one who told you that."

"Then listen to yourself!" he cried as I walked around, looking at the round tubes in the room.

"Hm…escape pods?" I asked out loud.

"Jade!" Tory cried, getting annoyed. "Listen to me!"

"I thought you told me to listen to myself?"

"Do both!"

"Do you know how hard it is to listen to two people at once?"

Tory growled audibly. "Don't smart-mouth me Jade! We need to leave!"

"You're such a-"

I couldn't finish my sentence. Not after what I saw before me.

It was thanks to the light from the hallway outside that I could see it, other wise I probably would have walked right over it.

A dried pool of blood.

I began feeling strange, and in my head I could hear gun shots. They were so loud I actually spun around to make sure no one was behind me.

But we were alone.

I was _hearing _a memory. This wasn't something that happened very often. I usually saw memories, and I heard thoughts.

"Jade…" Tory asked slowly. "What happened?"

It took me a moment to speak. "…Something…terrible. I can't see anything…but I can hear it. Clear as day."

"What do you hear?"

"…Gunshots. And…screams. Dying screams. Alarms are going off. People are panicking! They're running away! People are sacred and dying!"

"Any feelings?" Tory asked. He always asked this when I went into this state.

"…Terror. Agony. Pure sorrow and…pain. Someone's in pain!" I clutched the sides of my head and shut my eyes.

"Jade calm down." Tory advised slowly. "Take a deep breath."

I did as he told me, and I was still holding my head. "T-Tory, someone died here! Someone died!"

"Jade easy."

"Tory…someone was murdered here!" I was getting close to shouting. "Someone died! Someone's life was taken from them!"

"Jade!" Tory cried. I was practically vibrating now I was shaking so hard.

My eyes shot open. "Someone…died. Someone was killed. Right where we're standing…this is where they took their last breath."

Tory didn't say anything else.

"T-Tory…" I gasped, beginning to see little black spots. Then, I completely blacked out, falling to the floor.

LATER…

I slowly opened my eyes and saw that I was in the same room, but on the floor. I could hear Tory snoring softly in my pocket.

I sat up, holding my head. "Oh…what happened? Where did that…stuff come from?" I asked myself. But as I became more aware of my surroundings again, I found that I couldn't stay in there much longer.

So I jumped up and ran out as quickly as I could. Man this memory stuff was getting really old. It was so draining!

'_After this is all over, I'm going to take a month-long nap.' _I thought to myself, getting farther and farther away from the murder room. _'Where exactly am I headed?' _I asked myself, coming to a split in the hallway. They were both dark and lonely looking, which made it harder to decide. And of course, knowing the idiot that I am, which one do you think I picked?

The darkest and loneliest looking one, that's what.

Figures. I walked slowly down the dim path, trying to make out what was at the end. But I couldn't see anything. It got to the point where I could hardly see my hand in front of my face. Part of me was glad that Tory was asleep, and the other half of me was hoping he'd wake up so I would have someone to talk to. I could only wonder where I would end up here.

I soon found out. And I won't even _go _into the details of how I found the others…it's too long and boring.

But I did find them. Well, Chris and Shadow at least. They were in some kind of observation room, cause there was this huge window that completely took up the entire wall. Outside of the glass was the most amazing view I'd ever seen of space in my life.

Below us was Earth, white swirling clouds, deep blue seas, and breath-taking mountains. I couldn't believe it. All the while, Chris was going on and on about how worried he had been when I didn't show up, and how I could have gotten lost forever, and how something could have happened to me. That was the point when Shadow finally shut him up with a glare. Hey, I loved Chris like a brother, but sometimes-just like a brother-he annoyed me to NO END. Especially when Tory woke up. Then it got…well, worse.

"I just can't believe that we're in space." Chris kept saying over and over. "And we're inside a space station?"

"No, we're on Mars." Tory said quietly. I rolled my eyes.

"We call this place Space Colony ARK." Shadow said with his eyes closed.

"I've never heard of it." Chris replied, facing him.

'_Wow, he sure got over my 'lost' situation thing pretty fast.' _I thought to myself, looking at him and Shadow.

"It was built 50 years ago by Professor Gerald Robotnik." Shadow continued. "It's been kept…secret."

"No, really?" Tory asked sarcastically. I flicked the back of his head.

"OW!" he yelled. "Jade!"

"Tory, do me a favor and shut up." I said in a low voice.

"A secret space station?" Chris cried, leaning his face against the window. "I wonder if I'm the only kid who's ever been into space?"

"You're not." Shadow said quietly, just the hint of a smirk on his muzzle.

"Huh? Then who was?" Chris asked, facing Shadow once more.

Shadow quickly averted his gaze to the floor.

"Hey you know what? You look just like my friend Sonic." Chris said. "Are the two of you…related?"

As soon as he said that, Shadow glared at Chris, making him shrink back in fright. Shadow then returned his gaze to the window.

I was standing on his left, looking out at space too. I could see our reflections…but something wasn't right. I could see a reflection beside Shadow…but it wasn't mine!

'…_Another memory?' _I thought. I blinked as the world around me began to blur, Chris and Shadow disappearing.

I found myself in a hallway. I noted that I was still on the ARK, but in a different part. There were alarms going off and red flashing lights. I could hear people yelling in fright. I heard the sound of metal hitting metal, and turned around just in time to see Shadow racing down the hall with a young girl dressed in blue in tow. She was very young-almost Chris's age-and was very pretty. Her shoulder-length blonde hair was held back by a light blue headband, almost the same color as her eyes, which reminded me of the sea. She was panting heavily as she tried to keep up with Shadow. I heard voices yelling behind them. They were being chased by soldiers of some kind. With BIG guns in hand.

"Stop them! We can't let them gat away!" one of them yelled.

I heard gunshots as Shadow and the girl rounded a corner. I quickly followed them into the room as Shadow closed the door behind them.

Shadow said something I didn't catch, and then the girl pushed him into an escape pod. My eyes widened with a horrifying realization. "No…oh no."

The girl quickly walked over to the controls as Shadow banged on the glass. I noticed that as she walked, little red drops fell from her to the floor. I covered my mouth. _'It's her. This is the person who died in the room I fainted in!' _

"Listen Shadow. I want you to promise me. Please." She said, her voice beginning to crack.

"No wait!" Shadow cried.

"Remember that no matter what happens I'll always be your friend Shadow. We always talked about visiting the planet together one day, but it looks like you'll have to go without me."

I could see tears flowing down Shadow's face, and it broke my heart.

The girl was slowly sinking to the floor. "Sayanora, Shadow the Hedgehog." She gasped,, falling to the floor. As she fell, she pulled the lever and Shadow was shot into space.

The world slowly returned to normal as the memory faded. Shadow was now giving the window a death glare. I could almost see the hatred burning in his eyes. But…hatred for what…exactly?

I was feeling a little queasy. I was so confused. _'Who is this girl? Why did she die? Did she know Shadow? Does he have something to do with her death? Who killed her? Why? Shadow obviously knew her…but how? All this hatred…could it be that he feels…guilty? For not being able to save that girl?' _I shook my head, making the sick feeling worse. _'Ever since I've met him, Shadow's been the only thing on my mind. And I want to know why.' _ I looked at my reflection in the window and realized something.

I looked like _her._ I looked like the girl Shadow knew. We could have been twins!

Then Rouge came in.

"Hey, Egghead wants us in the-Jade are you okay?"

I found myself to have one hand on the window, and the other wrapped around my stomach. I was feeling very shaky.

"I…feel sick." I said.

"Space travel will do that." Shadow said. "I guess _Jade_ just has a weak stomach." I noticed he put a lot of emphasis on my name. Now why was that?

Rouge came over to me. "Oh just ignore that sour-puss Jadie."

"Don't call me Jadie." I said.

"She's fine Rouge." Tory said from my shoulder. "If anything goes wrong, I'll try to call you."

Rouge eyed Tory warily, but then sighed. No one knew me better than my Familiar, and Rouge had learned the hard way not to argue with Tory when it came to my well-being.

"Okay." She said, shrugging. She turned to Chris. "Hi Chris, how are you doing?"

"She's being unusually nice." Tory whispered in my ear.

"I know." I answered back. "Maybe she stole another jewel…"

"Possibly." Tory nodded.

"Aren't you happy to see me Shadow?" Rouge continued, completely ignoring my almost silent conversation with Tory.

Shadow just ignored her and walked away.

"I love it when you give me the silent treatment!" Rouge called after him.

"She's trying too hard." Tory whispered.

He just walked out of the room. Rouge turned to Chris and I and said, "What's with Mr. Sunshine?"

I rolled my eyes while Chris shrugged.

"So…" I asked slowly. "What happened while I was gone?"

Chris and Rouge exchanged looks. I knew something had happened.

"What?" I asked, immediately wary. "What happened? Who died?"

'_Woah. Why did _that _come out?'_

So then Chris and Rouge proceeded to tell me that Eggman had blown half the moon away. (A/N: I always get confused about when that actually takes place, so if I'm wrong, please, someone let me know!)

I kind of went into shock after that, and Rouge got Chris to leave the room with her so I could have a moment alone. This was really big news, so it was a lot to take in.

I didn't notice it when Shadow came back in and stood next to me, staring out at the vast blackness of space. I did notice him when Tory cleared his throat at me, and moved his little head to Shadow.

I just _had _to talk to him. I wanted to know why he had saved Chris and I on Prison Island. But I was more confused as to why he saved me too. I mean, I was the one who left Eggman's base when he had told me not too. Chris was just there because he was trying to break Sonic out of jail. I was the one who should be in the most trouble. So…why did he save me?

I cleared my throat. "Uh…Shadow?"

He didn't even acknowledge me, so I kept going.

"I…wanted to thank you…for saving me on Prison Island. I got myself into that situation…and you got me out of it. So…thanks."

Shadow was still completely ignoring me, like I didn't even exist. I was getting annoyed. I saw Tory frown in concern out of the corner of my eye, but he knew better than to say anything. I was under _a lot _of stress lately.

"I'm trying to thank you for saving me." I repeated.

"If you would have stayed at the base like you were told to do, then you wouldn't have been in that mess, and I wouldn't have had to come and save you." Shadow replied flatly, his arms crossed and eyes closed.

I instantly flared. "What do you mean by that? Are you regretting that you saved me Shadow?"  
He didn't answer.

"Or was it to prove something?"

No reaction.

The next words I said without thinking.

"Did you save me because I look like HER? Because you couldn't save HER?" I immediately gasped and slapped a hand over my mouth.

Tory sighed. "Oh boy…"

I got a reaction from Shadow. He noticeably flinched and turned his death glare to me. Even though I didn't shrink back like Chris, I was absolutely terrified. For the first time since I'd met him, I was afraid of Shadow.

I'd never seen him look like that before. And I never wanted to ever again.

"Don't…ever…say that…again." He growled at me, visibly pissed off.

I could only nod. My voice was completely lost. His anger was overwhelming my senses, and I couldn't move. My brain wouldn't function. All I could think about was the hatred burning in those crimson eyes…but wait! There was hatred, that much was obvious, but I suddenly detected another, different emotion.

Pure, agonizing sorrow.

I was shocked as well. What was it about this hedgehog that made me think about him? What had happened to him that made him like this? Who was the girl who died? Who was she to Shadow? Why did she die? All these questions raced around my head, and I knew that I couldn't answer them at this time. Some I never would be able to answer.

When would this all end? How would it end?

YES! FINALLY! God this chapter took FOREVER to finish. But hey, it's done now. So, what do you think? I wanted to explain Jade's ability a bit in this one, and it turned out to be almost a page long. Did I reveal too much in that little scene where she fainted? Please let me know! I would really love to know! Read&Review everyone! Till next time! Tee hee!


	5. Chapter 5

I'm so sorry that this took so long to update! But I've been very busy with things. So I hope this chapter makes up for it!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything except for Jade and Tory. Not to mention the characters that you know shouldn't be here. Enjoy!

Chapter 4: The Loss of a Hero

JADE'S P.O.V

I was running down the hall. God Shadow's eyes freaked me out!

"Jade that was uncalled for." Tory said from my pocket.

"Shut up Tory." I snapped. The stress was starting to get to me.

"Don't take it out on me!" Tory argued. "Just because you can't control what comes out of your mouth!"

"Tory I said shut up!" I repeated. I heard the voices of Sonic and the others coming from a room not far away.

"Sonic?" I said out loud. "When did he get here?"

"How should I know?"

"I wasn't asking you."

As I got to the entrance of where Sonic and the others were, I suddenly stopped.

"Jade?" Tory asked worriedly.

Without a warning of any kind, I blacked out.

When I woke up, I saw a bright light above me, and I heard my name being called.

I groaned. "Ugh…turn the lights off…"

"She's fine!"

"Of course I'm fine…" I said as I sat up. I looked around, rubbing my eyes. "Uh…where have I ended up this time?"

"You fainted." Chris explained. "So we had to carry you up here."

I glanced at him. "Okay…and where is here?"

He gestured with his arm to the rest of the room. "Welcome to the Observation Room Jade!"

I gasped at the sight before me.

There was one huge window that spread the entire length of the room. It went from the floor to the ceiling, and was as clear as crystal. Outside was the most beautiful view of planet Earth I'd ever seen in my life.

I guess nothing compares to the real thing.

I stood up and walked towards it. I put both my hands on the glass and pressed my nose to it.

"…This is amazing!" I cried.

"I'll say." Came Tory's voice from my pocket. He was in the same position I was in, and his beady black eyes reflected the light of the blue planet.

I noticed Amy next to me; she was wringing her hands in worry.

"…Okay I know I missed something while I was out." I said. "What happened?"

"Well…" Chris said hesitantly. "It's like this Jade…"

And so he explained to me about the Final Hazard, and that Sonic, Knuckles, Bocoe and Decoe had gone to retrieve the Chaos Emeralds. Or something like that…after I heard about a giant Biolizard, I blanked out.

"So…in short, we're all going to die." Tory summed up.

I gently bopped his head. "No genius. We're not going to die. Sonic won't fail!"

"I hope he makes it in time." Amy said, staring out the window.

"Yeah…" Chris said forlornly. "I wish there was something we could do to help them…"

Mr. Tanaka put his hand on Chris' shoulder. "Sonic and the others will make it there in time."

Chris smiled at him.

"Don't bet on it."

We all spun around to see Shadow standing in the doorway, his hand on his hip. Kind of a funny pose for him if you ask me…

"Shadow!" Chris cried.

Shadow just stared blankly at us, but then a menacing smile appeared on his face. It made me shiver a bit…I didn't like that look.

It seemed as though he and Chris were having a staring contest. Then Chris stepped forward with a determined look.

"Mister Chris…" Tanaka said. However, Chris paid no attention to him.

He started talking. "Shadow…please…you can help save us all."

I face-palmed myself. "Oh you've got to be kidding me…"

Shadow looked surprised that Chris would say such a thing to him.

"You believe that you're meant only for destruction, but think about it." he said. "When I was in trouble back on Prison Island, you came to save me."

He put his hands on Shadow's shoulders. Red lights started going off in my head.

"Deep down you know you were meant to help people and that's why you saved me." He said.

"Hands off." Shadow said. Then he did something unexpected. He hit Chris with one of his rings, and Chris went flying into the wall behind him.

"Chris!" Amy yelled as my hand flew to my mouth.

Amy tried to run to Chris, but she was stopped by Tanaka. "He needs help." She said.

But Tanaka shook his head no.

"I made a promise to Maria and I intend to keep it." Shadow said darkly.

Chris got up rather shakily, and made his way back to Shadow.

"Shadow, getting revenge won't bring Maria back." Chris said.

"So what?" he growled.

"There's still time to stop this Shadow, please you have to listen to me!" Chris put his hands back on Shadow's shoulders. "How can you blame people alive today for something that happened fifty years ago? Can't you see it's not fair!"

Shadow hit him again, but this time he seemed mad.

"SHUT UP!" he yelled as Chris slid down the wall. "Don't talk to me about fair! Not after what happened here!"

Then, a memory was flung at me. The world around me dissolved, and I heard Shadow's voice. I saw Maria's smiling face.

"Maria was my only friend. But then your ruler sent soldiers to take her away from me! I tried to save her, but there were too many for me to stop." Then Maria's image slowly faded away. "I never saw poor Maria again."

I saw another image of Maria, and this time she was already on the floor. "Maria wasn't a threat to anyone," Shadow continued angrily. "All she wanted was to visit your planet, but she never had the chance!"

The world then returned to normal. I shook my head.

"Please listen." Chris said, getting back up.

I raised an eyebrow. _'He's still at it? Chris do you have a death wish or something?' _

"While it's true that there are some bad people in the world, most people are good. I'm sure you'd know that if only you got to know them, just like Maria wanted to."

Chris continued walking towards Shadow. I thought I saw a slight change in Shadow's eyes…perhaps what Chris was saying was actually working!

"Shadow please…Maria would want you to be friends with people." Chris said weakly.

A look of astonishment crossed Shadow's face and I knew that Chris had finally broken down the walls Shadow had built up over fifty years. He had finally made it through to him.

Then, the most powerful memory I had encountered so far was thrown in my face. I actually sank to my knees while the scenery changed, and I found myself looking at Shadow's memory.

Maria was on the floor, a little pool of blood forming at her side. She was shaking slightly. "Listen Shadow, I want you to promise me. Please."

"No wait!"

"Remember that no matter what happens, I'll always be your friend Shadow. We always talked about visiting the planet together one day, but it looks like you'll have to go without me." Maria began to slowly sink to the floor, her hand still grasped around the lever. "Shadow please promise me…that you'll help people…and be…friends with them."

"Maria! No!" Shadow was still yelling.

I felt something warm and wet run down my face and found that it was a tear. I was crying.

Maria smiled sadly at him. "I'm sure you'll be very happy down there Shadow. I only wish that I could go along with you." she paused for breath. "The world looks so beautiful from up here in space. But my grandfather says the people who live there, have to face many problems. That's why you were created. To be the one who will watch over and protect us. Just like…a…shadow."

Shadow was past the point of speaking; his voice was choked by tears and pure sorrow. Maria drew herself up again, and grasped the lever tighter.

"M-Maria!" Shadow sobbed.

"Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog." Maria gasped as she pulled the lever down, before falling to the floor, never to move again.

Then the world around me returned to normal and I saw Chris begin to faint. He fell forward, but before he could hit the floor, Shadow caught him with one arm. I then noticed something I thought I would never, ever see.

A tear.

A small, glistening tear was forming in the corner of Shadow's eye. Shadow was crying.

"Shadow?" Amy asked slowly.

Tanaka came forward and took Chris from Shadow.

"…He was right about Maria." Shadow said in astonishment. "She did want me to help the people of your world…"

Then, he smiled a genuine smile as the one little tear fell and splashed onto the metallic floor. I smiled through my tears as well.

Tory was just sobbing as loud as could be, but thankfully Shadow chose to ignore him.

Well…let me see…after that whole scenario, nothing actually happened. But I did notice a drastic change when the ARK started shaking violently.

"What's going on?" Tory asked, backing into his shell.

"How should I know?" I retorted, trying to stay on my feet. Then it suddenly stopped.

Amy and I looked at each other. "I have a bad feeling about this…" we said simultaneously.

Then, all of a sudden, Sonic appeared in the room.

I was startled so badly that I actually fell over backwards.

"Sonic!" Amy cried happily. I noticed that after Sonic came in, so did Rouge, Tails, and Knuckles. Shadow was nowhere to be seen…

I growled slightly. _'Oh…when I get my hands on that speedy blue hedgehog…' _I thought as I picked myself up.

Sonic…was glowing. He had somehow turned gold, and his eyes had turned orange. His quills now stood straight up, making him look like he stuck his finger in an outlet.

He was also floating.

Sonic floated over to Chris and patted his shoulder. Chris mumbled in his sleep and Sonic smiled. Then he turned to me.

"Jade, this is for you." he said, handing me a little box.

I raised an eyebrow. "…Uh…Sonic, this isn't the most appropriate time to be giving presents ya know?"

He rolled his eyes at me. "It's not from me Jade…it's from Shadow."

My jaw dropped open. "…From…Shadow? Why would Shadow give me a present?"

Sonic shrugged. "I don't know. But he said to give it to you because you remind him of Maria, and this was hers."

I reached forward and took the little black box from Sonic's gloved hand. I looked at him. "…Tell him I said thank you…"

Sonic nodded. "I will. Now I have a planet to save!"

And with that, he disappeared. I saw that he and another glowing figure reappeared outside in space. My eyes widened. "Is that…Shadow?" I cried, pressing my face against the glass again.

Sure enough, it was.

Even from here I could make out those piercing blood red eyes. He was a different color too; it looked like a lemony-yellow color. But he still had his trademark red stripes and bent quills.

"…What is it Jade?" Amy asked, eyeing the black box with curiosity.

I shrugged. "I don't know." I looked at her. "…Should I open it?"

"Sure." Amy said.

I slowly opened the box, as if I was afraid to damage it. My jaw fell open for what seemed like the umpteenth time that day.

"Jade, what is it?" Amy asked, coming closer.

I took the object out and held it up.

It was a gold heart-shaped locket. I was completely captivated by the shining heart. _'This…this was Maria's necklace…and he's…giving it to me…' _I thought. I noticed a little latch on the side, so I opened it.

Inside was a mini picture of Shadow and Maria. Maria was smiling with an arm around Shadow's shoulders. He was grinning, showing off some nasty-looking canine teeth. But with Maria there beside him, he didn't look scary at all.

I started crying again. I closed the locket and held it to my heart. I would guard this memento with my life if I had to. It was special to me, and not just in the sense that it was old, but because Shadow trusted me enough to take care of it.

Amy smiled sadly at me. "It sure is pretty isn't it Jade?"

"…It's beautiful." I whispered. I looked out the window as a tear fell. I was just in time to see Sonic and Shadow practically explode with power. _'Come on you two…Sonic you have to do this, you have to make it! Shadow…I know you can do it…'_

I then got worried. Something was going to happen…why else would Shadow have given me the locket? He knew something was going to happen…he knew it! But what?

Then, there was a blinding light from the two hedgehogs. Instinctively I covered my eyes and turned away for Tory.

Then, it was gone. I slowly turned around and saw that we were farther away from Earth. It hit me. _'They…they did it…they did it!' _

"Yes!" Amy cried. Chris had woken up by now, and was staring out the window like he couldn't believe his eyes.

Then, Sonic came through the door, back to blue once more. But…he was alone.

"Sonic!" Amy cried. "You did it Sonic, you did it!"

I stepped forward. "…Where's Shadow?"

Sonic looked at me sadly and shook his head.

My eyes widened at the horrible truth that sunk in. He was gone…

"…No," Chris said. "Shadow…he can't be gone…"

Numerous tears then spilled out of my eyes, though I didn't make a sound. Shadow…gone…no!

I sank to my knees again, feeling faint.

"Jade?" Chris asked.

"…This has to be a dream…" I said. "Please someone tell me I'm having a nightmare!"

"Jade," Sonic said, stepping forward. "…I'm sorry. But it's true." Just to prove his point, he handed me something.

One of Shadow's rings.

I took it and just stared at it. I clutched it to my heart and started sobbing. Sonic patted my back comfortingly, but I could tell he didn't really know how to react to this.

"Jade…don't cry." Sonic said. "I doubt Shadow would be happy to see you like this…"

"If I don't cry for him who will?" I retorted, my emotions getting the better of me.

"We all will Jade." Rouge said. She walked up to me and put her hand on my shoulder. "He touched more than just your heart too ya know."

I instantly blushed. "WHA?"

Rouge giggled. "Oh don't be so modest Jade. I'm not blind."

I frowned and looked back at the ring. So what? Maybe Shadow had touched me in a way that no one else had ever before…maybe he had made my heart beat like it was going to burst…so what?

Oh I knew exactly what. I knew that Rouge was exactly right.

I had a crush on Shadow.

And now he was gone…man I make the worst mistakes ever!

"Come on guys, let's go." Sonic said. "Space is cool, but I like my feet on the ground."

"Hey, the rocket's ready!" Tails announced.

"Where did Egghead go?" Amy asked.

"I think he left earlier." Knuckles answered. "Coward…"

So we all filed out of the room. But I stayed behind for a minute. I heard Sonic whisper behind me, and it sounded like "Goodbye."

I stared at the window, and then found a memory. I allowed it to enter my mind, and I watched the scene unfold before me. I saw Shadow and Maria standing before me, looking out the window down at Earth. I noticed that Maria had on the golden locket; the one that was now in my hand.

"Shadow," Maria said softly. "We'll be friends forever."

"And ever." Shadow added. With that, he took her hand and smiled at her. She smiled back at him, and slowly the image faded.

"…Friends…forever…" I repeated softly. "…Forever…in my heart…" I took a deep breath. "Sayonara…Shadow the Hedgehog…"

Then, I walked out and found the others waiting for me on the ship.

LATER…

Well, that was my adventure with Shadow. Afterwards, there was a kind of celebration held for Sonic for saving the world. I however, promptly left when I heard some G.U.N officers thanking Sonic for saving the world from 'The Experiment'. I could tell that it didn't make Sonic any happier than me, but he had more tolerance than I did. I just left and walked along the street. Then when I came to the spot where I had first met Shadow, I broke down crying. I walked all the way back to the place where we were currently staying. I cried myself to sleep that night, with both Shadow's ring and Maria's necklace held to my heart.

THE END

I'm so sorry that it took me this long to update this story. I hope no one's mad at me! But please tell me how you liked this chapter! Please do so! And…let me know what you thought about the part where Jade realizes that she was crushing on Shadow…and the part with Maria's necklace.


	6. Epilogue

Just a message for you all…

This is the Epilogue. I just wanted to say that I appreciate all of the reviews I have gotten for this story and that it wouldn't have come this far if it weren't for you wonderful readers. I would also like to say that this story is dedicated to my pet turtle named Tory, who died nine years ago in September.

I love you Tory, rest in peace.

Love,

Jade Wolf


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